Prior to the perfection of the spring sheller in the 1850's, corn was removed from the ears by hand, a time consuming task.

This hand-powered sheller was built in the 1860's. It uses a feeding wheel to push the ears into a picker wheel. The picker wheel has numerous nibs protruding from its side. The spring holds the ear against the nibs, which push the kernels from the ear.

The corn kernels fall out the bottom of the machine and the bare cobs are spit out the back.